The Great Siege of 1224

The Fall of Bedford Castle

August 2024 marks 800 years since the end of the Great Siege of Bedford Castle. To commemorate this unique event in Bedford’s history, a new play with music will be staged on top of the Castle Mound to tell the story of those who lived in the castle, and who lost it to the young King, 16 year old Henry III.

This is a community production, to be performed on top of the Castle Mound by the people of Bedford, on 24th - 25th August 2024, with performances at 2pm and 6pm each day.

Bedford Castle Mound

Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. The Great Siege of 1224 - The fall of Bedford Castle is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to put on this open air production of this historic event in our town's history.

The Great Siege of 1224 is part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and supported by Bedford Borough Council’s Town Centre Priority Fund. It is produced in association with Bedford Theatre Trust Ltd (registered charity number: 267522).

News

All performances are SOLD OUT!

If you've booked tickets that you are no longer able to use, please email us at thegreatsiege1224@gmail.com so we can make your tickets available to someone else.
If you weren't lucky enough to book tickets when they became available, please keep checking The Place website as any returns will be put back on there, see also Book tickets, below.

There is no charge for tickets for this outdoor production, but it is essential to bring blankets or chairs to sit on as seating is not provided. Everyone (including all children, regardless of age) must have a ticket.

We look forward to seeing you on the Castle Mound on 24th or 25th August.

Book tickets

All performances are SOLD OUT!

If you've booked tickets that you are no longer able to use, please email us at thegreatsiege1224@gmail.com so we can make your tickets available to someone else.
If you weren't lucky enough to book tickets please keep checking The Place website (see link below), as any returns will be put back on there.

There is no charge for tickets but everyone, including all children, regardless of age, must have a ticket.

It is essential to bring blankets or chairs to sit on as seating is not provided.

Performances are on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th August, at 2pm and 6pm each day. Each performance will last approximately 75 minutes, with no interval.

Please dress appropriately for the weather - the show will only be cancelled if weather conditions become dangerous. Umbrellas will be permitted but please be mindful of people sitting near or behind you. And don’t forget your drinking water and sunscreen, which of course we hope you'll need!
Food and drink is not on sale at the event, however you may bring your own as long as you take your litter home with you. You may access the performance area 45 minutes before the performance start time.

Click the link below to go to The Place website for more information and to book your free tickets.

The siege and fall of Bedford Castle

Bedfordians will know that we have a castle mound but no Castle, but how many know why?

In August 1224, with the whole of Europe watching, the young Henry III marched on Bedford with 2,700 soldiers to bring down Falkes de Breaute, the ‘Robber Baron’ of Bedford. At the end of the eight-week siege, Henry ordered the destruction of the Castle.

When Bedford Castle was built in around 1087, many earlier Saxon buildings were destroyed, and the castle eventually took up a quarter of the Town. The castle was large and important, and lay at the heart of life in Bedford, until its destruction at the hands of Henry's army.

The view from the motte

The castle site became a scheduled monument in 1979, and was re-excavated in 2007 when Castle Quay was developed. Following the development of Castle Quay, the historical importance of the area was recognised and an archaeological park featuring a mosaic map and other resources was created to celebrate Bedford’s heritage. This community production of The Great Siege of 1224 will reveal the dramatic story of the fall of the castle and the aftermath of the siege, so that it can be shared with local residents, and immortalised for future generations.

Production team

Writer/Composer: Rob Parker

Rob was raised in Bedford and was the lucky recipient of a great musical and dramatic education courtesy of the county.
He is a professional composer and playwright, having been writing shows for over 30 years. He is a collaborator with Piper Theatre from Brooklyn, New York, and has worked with them in the USA as well as in Malta and Scotland.
The Great Siege is a passion project that Rob wanted desperately to put on, and thankfully, in Dawn, he found a likeminded and highly motivated partner to get the ball rolling. It is a real joy to hand the show over to this talented team. Tim’s orchestration brings a whole new ambience to the music, and Cally will bring her world of talent and experience to the challenges of outdoor theatre.
He cannot wait to watch the final production!

Director: Cally Lawrence

Cally has been working as an actor and director since 1995. She grew up in Bedfordshire, and in recent years directed George's Marvellous Medicine, Wild Things, and Twilight Dancer at The Place. Cally played Beatrice in Much Ado about Nothing on Castle Mound back in 2013. In 2016, she directed a promenade production of The Passion in Bedford. She loves living in Bedford and is excited to be working on The Great Siege.
"It is a wonderful chance to bring an important piece of Bedford's history to life in a fun and creative way. Everyone knows Castle Mound, but not everyone knows the story behind it."
Cally’s acting roles includes TV shows such as The Office, Peep Show, People Just Do Nothing, and more recently, True Love for Channel 4, and Sexy Beast for Paramount Plus. Her recent theatre work includes Shirley Valentine (Vienna’s English Speaking Theatre), The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Greenwich Theatre) and Boeing Boeing (Frinton Summer Theatre).
Cally is one of the producers of StageWrite, a new writing event based at The Place, running twice a year since 2013. She is also on the Front of House team at The Quarry theatre. "Theatre in all its forms is my biggest passion, and there is so much great stuff going on in Bedford, I feel very lucky to be a part of it."

Musical Director/Arranger: Tim Brewster

Tim has been playing, MDing, and writing music for the theatre and other genres since moving to Bedfordshire in 1996. Writing credits include two musicals - Nicholas Nickleby (2012) and (partnering with Ruth Lusby-Yentis) a musical version of Michael Morpurgo’s Friend or Foe (2014). Tim also wrote the music for Poppy Hollman’s play Bells of Turvey (2016).
The Great Siege offers an opportunity to draw upon Tim’s early influences, which include folk music, the early music revival, and the Bill Bryden productions of The Mysteries and Lark Rise to Candleford for the National Theatre, both of which Tim went on to recreate and stage locally.
"The musical style used in those Cottesloe productions managed to convey a deep sense of history, time and place, whilst at the same time sounding contemporary and full of energy.
I’m very excited to be the Musical Director for the Great Siege, and to have had the opportunity to arrange Rob’s songs for a large, live band, aiming to create the same effect as the music had in those iconic NT productions."

Producer: Dawn Allen

Dawn has been hooked on local theatre since she was 14, and first sold ice creams in the Civic Theatre!
She has since performed in many roles on stage, notably Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine, and her enthusiasm for all things theatrical has extended to stage managing, designing and constructing sets, as well as directing. Most recently she directed One for the Road, which was performed in February this year at The Place Theatre in Bedford.
Dawn is also a local Tour Guide and has become immersed in the history of Bedford. Combining her love of theatre and local history was a driving force behind promoting the opportunity to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the last siege of Bedford Castle. Dawn says "Finding out that Rob Parker was as gripped by the story of Bedford Castle as me, was a light bulb moment. Rob’s writing and music depicting the events of the summer of 1224 are nothing short of sensational and I am thrilled that we can mount this production in the very capable hands of Cally Lawrence and Tim Brewster."

The Band

Chas Hutchings – trumpet, crumhorn
Dan Phillips – drums, tenor drum
Danny Barton – guitar, lute
Kate Brewster – soprano saxophone, flute
Liz Schofield – trombone, sackbut
Matt Jarman - bass guitar
Simon Bailes – accordion, percussion
Tim Brewster – border bagpipes, hurdy gurdy, treble recorder, bouzouki